Page 138 of The Alpha and His Childhood Sweetheart

Rhea linked, “Dear goddess, could they do that?!” I replied, “I doubt the undergrounds follow basic etiquette on fighting rules.” I focused back on the conversation. The sniper was overly kind to Theo. Rhea mused, “So where she tore into Jase, she was tender about Theo being upset with her.” I asked, “Why though? That didn’t make sense. Theo sounds angrier than Jase.”

I had no answers I liked for that thought. The sniper gave us instructions. Jason and the sniper blew up at each other again. Jason was obviously still upset. I linked Dalton, “She’s reading off a script.” He agreed, “That’s what it sounds like.” I said, “She rambles.” He agreed, “Yup.” I pushed, “Like someone else.” My head hurt so bad I may cry. He replied, “Used to. Her etiquette coach trained it out of her.” Had she? Or when angry did she revert to it? Or was Ashley the sniper?

Then the sniper asked for me specifically. Rhea linked, “She knows our word means something. It’s someone we know.” I didn’t want that to be true. I tried to smooth things over and gaped at the phone when she hung up after snarking more about Jason. Rhea said, “She didn’t hang up. Someone else did.”

I reasoned with my wolf, “Ashley can’t be the sniper. That’s a personal issue with Jase. She’s never even been to Red Run.” Rhea sighed, “I just don’t know. I can’t think with this headache anymore.” EJ got mad at Jason.

Dakota linked, “He’s struggling more every day. Nothing helps except talking to Mel. That’s brief and feels like it’s always put off or interrupted. I don’t know what to do.” Neither did I because now he probably wouldn’t see her for a few weeks. With his nightmares I was certain he just needed to see her face.

Haley pulled everyone’s attention off Jason. Rhea linked, “She’s amazing.” I agreed, “She’s giving him the space he needs. He knows he messed up, but he’s hurting.” Rhea added, “And she’s making excellent connections everyone else missed.” I had so much to learn from her it was crazy.

That led to more headache discussions which nearly sent my mother in law into orbit with anger. I caught a hint of it through EJ before she shut it all down. That was bad. To feel that anger in my bond with EJ as if it was his meant she was raging pissed.

Rhea sang, “She’ll go kill someone for Bjourn.” Probably. She needed to get her anger out and that was the best way for the Hackura to calm down. Fight it out. If she could help her brother and calm down she’d do it.

When she was pissed about the emergency rule, I frowned. Because it was Eric’s rule. Things were swirling in my mind. Things didn’t make sense. I linked Dalton, “Did they forget it was their rule?” He reasoned, “Eric could’ve told her it was mutual. He’d do anything to protect her and his pups.”

Yeah, but he wouldn’t lie to her not just because she’d know if he was. He’d lay out the reasons. My head hurt so bad. I reached for Karina’s cookies that were sitting out and they helped right away. Obviously, I was just hungry. Dalton’s explanations made perfect sense. I was silly to question that.

I lost focus on the meeting as the planning went on around me. I slipped out to get some fresh air. I went on a run to our border just past the line with the Daniels. I stopped and shifted back, grabbed EJ’s shirt, and laid down on the ground.

I looked up at the sky and started calling on the one person who could send some divine intervention. “Moon Goddess, something is going on and I need answers. I need the headaches to stop so I can get the damn answers. Something is very wrong, I can feel it. I’m on the brink. Just please let me have a momentof clarity.” I gave that a few minutes to work then started thinking.

My headache came roaring back. I glared at the sky, “So that’s a no then?” I got nothing in response. I threw EJ’s shirt off, shifted back, and ran back home. I grabbed my clothes and went back inside. Everyone was gathering on the lawn. Eric was watching me closely.

I couldn’t be bothered to care. Rhea was hurt because the Moon Goddess didn’t answer our plea. I was beyond annoyed. Why couldn’t I just get a five minute break from this headache? Even a couple minutes. Something would click for me. I knew it.

EJ gave a speech rallying everyone going to the rescue. I couldn't help but stare at him with all the love I had in my heart when he mentioned there was another fighter we would work to save. He was such a good man.

I noticed Theo was vibrating with energy and anger. I linked him, “We will bring Jane home. We are going to get to her.” Theo asked brokenly, “She’s not going to be in good shape, is she Elise? The sniper said they had her fighting too much because of how skilled she is.”

I evaded, “Alexander and your mom will be there. Jane will be fine. She will be in your arms tonight. She will be safe.” I knew he knew I hadn’t answered his question because we both knew the answer. He replied, “Thank you.”

My focus turned to Emmaline Lyons. Her daughter Aria Lyons, now seventeen, was standing by her mom and gave her an encouraging smile. Lucas whisper yelled, “Aria, what are you doing here?” She answered, “I’m going.” He disagreed, “You aren’t.” She pleaded, “Daddy…” He cut her off, “You’re not even eighteen yet. Go home.” She sighed and popped out. It wasn’t really fair, she was more than ready.

Rhea snorted, “Alpha Males are very protective of daughters.” Didn’t I know it? Rhea howled with laughter, “Yes, we do.” Itwas worse for Aria though, because a lot of people were after her because of who she was in the Fairy prophecy. I didn’t have that, and I knew my mate my whole life. I suspected she knew hers as the strongest Soul Searcher and found it odd she hadn’t said who it was.

Everyone talked about Aria having some secret. Haley clearly knew about it, but no one else seemed to realize that. Or the obvious conclusion that the strongest Soul Searcher would know who her mate was. The question was why she didn’t bring him in. I was thinking her dad wouldn’t like him.

I focused on Emmaline hovering near Alpha Nathan McDermont. Nathan Conners had just given him a pep talk. Emmaline seemed to be debating something. She would start to open her mouth then shut it several times. She did it at least fifteen times before telling him to keep his heart open to his second chance mate.

Rhea gasped, “Holy crap. That was a lot. No wonder she struggled with whether or not she should tell him.” Alpha Nathan looked stunned, and I felt for him. He couldn’t think about anything right now but his daughter, and no one blamed him.

We were popped in and Alexander immediately started hopping around. I linked Micah, “Why is he doing that?” Micah answered, “He got an email with instructions. My dad and I are working on it. This code, it’s crazy good though.”

Something in his tone had me asking, “Do you know who wrote it?” Micah evaded, “I don’t know, no.” I pressed, “You suspect someone then?” Micah admitted, “I do. I’m trying to prove I’m right, but it’s harder than you’d think. Most coders use a special signature. I can’t crack this one.” I clarified, “Alexander got the email?” Micah nodded. It always came back to Alexander.

I pushed that aside and jumped down after EJ into the underground lair. I had to focus because this was about these fighters. I needed to get in the right headspace. Theo was gone the second he caught Jane’s scent. My heart clenched when he screamed for Haley. I asked Rhea, “Can you hear her heartbeat?” Rhea answered, “It’s faint, but Haley can save her. We’ve seen her do that.” I agreed, knowing Haley would tell Death himself to fuck off to save Theo’s mate.

EJ threw up his shield as shots were fired. I linked Theo, “Are they firing at you?” Theo answered, “We are behind the solid door. Even if they were, the bullet would ricochet and hit them. Mom’s healing Jane, so we are in her bubble anyway. No one can get inside. Are you guys ok?”

I replied, “EJ’s got his shield up.” Theo apologized, “I’m sorry I left you guys back there but her heartbeat….” I cut him off, “Is getting stronger. I can hear it.” Alexander and a group of his Warriors easily took out the forces opposing us.

Rhea linked, “A Hackura took off for Madeline. This is a heartwarming shitshow.” That was certainly a way to put it. I peeked in at Madeline, she was beaten to hell. I looked in on the other fighters knowing Alexander had that under control. They weren’t nearly as bad.

We all waited in Jane’s room. Madeline rushed in worried about her best friend. The second Jane woke up her eyes went to Theo’s. She sobbed into his neck as he comforted her. Madeline went to her friend. Her words brought me up short. They’d met the sniper.

EJ had drawn the same conclusion. I saw Katie Cambridge studying the girls. She stepped out to make a call and I followed her. She was cursing about her dad. I frowned. When she hung up, she saw me. I asked, “Are you ok?” Katie sighed, “Somewhat. I’m sick of this Ring. My brothers and I found all my dad’s notes. The dark magic he used, we know it’s his signature. Obviouslyif an object is spelled, we’d know there was a spell, but we can recognize our dad’s magic from a mile away. Those girls, they have magic my dad used on them.”

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